[Anypeny]

Alternatively, does anyone knows if it is possible to stay in Thailand for long term? Is there any special visa that allows Singaporean to stay there for a long term?

[Mappaindy]

Strangerdoom, unfortunately, I'm not self-employed, in fact, I'm not even employed. Currently still studying. I'm actually looking for people with contacts especially those who know any one who owns a shop in Golden Mile, exactly for the option that you have stated in your post.

Thanchart, about having enough to come in, she is already here and she has absolutely no problems coming into the Singapore customs. I was quite amazed, no questions on agenda, return tickets nor amount of money.

Paul_au.......hahahahaha

[Roorseprate]

I think she should just change her attitude, and think more positively towards Bangkok. Maybe she could live just out side of the city to get away from the Bangkok pollution. She just has a bad attitude, she needs to meet new friends in Thailand and just enjoy life, so what if her Job not pay much money.

[Anteneprorid]

Makiy0, she would need to show that she has about S$1000 to prove that she is here as a genuine tourist, as there are many cases of Thai and PRC ladies coming here to earn money by selling their bodies while under social visit pass.

Alternatively, you can give a letter as her guarantor that she is here as a genuine tourist. And be at the airport to meet her and if possible, let her have your mobile number so you can be contacted should there be any issues with customs.

Well, since you cannot marry her, the chances of her coming to live in Singapore on a long term basis is slim.

[Liskaspexia]

Hi Makiyo, nice to see you here again.

I wish I could help your friend! But I have no personal experience there. I looked at a few websites by foreigners working and living in Singapore; these may have some helpful information.
http://www.expatsingapore.com
http://www.sg/

I don't know if applying for an international school just for the sake of a long-term stay could work in this case. True, it is possible to stay for a very long time this way (I stayed in the US for five years as an international student) but these schools tend to be very expensive, and money-for-show is only a short-term solution even in Singapore, according to the guidelines of a Singaporean international school.

Long-term stay via international schools requries quite a large investment and dedication. Even the rich USA doesn't have entry-level scholarships for nonresident aliens, so at least the first year's tuition has to be paid entirely by the student. I'm not sure if this is possible for your friend. However, the good news is, if she gets a good GPA and gets to know some people, quite generous local scholarships may be available for the subsequent years. So, if you decide to go this route, here is a list of international schools in Singapore.

Is it possible for her to come to see you as a visitor, and use that time to find a temporary job, get a permit that way, and then she could continue searching for the job that she really wants while working? That could be less strenuous and may not require a long-term committment. I read that once a job is terminated, foreigners are given a few weeks to find another job. If she has a firm offer lined up already, she could safely quit the first "placeholder" job and get the new position.

I wish you and your friend the best of luck. Please keep us informed how things work out for her.

[Diandaplaipsy]

In regards to Strangerdoom's question in regards to staying in Thiland for a long time, well it has got trickier over the past 18 months because of the crackdown on terrorism.

The easiest way to stay in Thailand is to get yourself a job that guarantees you a work permit, not too difficult to find, epecially if you want to teach. Teacher's get work permits the easiest.

Contrary to rumour, marrying a Thai doesnt guarantee that you will be allowed to live here indefinetly. After marriage you will still have to find a job OR be able to show 400,000 baht in the bank every year to show that you can support your wife.

Immigration has now stopped the process of all Non B visas to anyone who has two in in a row and not applied for a work permit.

You could be a student!

Become a monk! (even they get hassle sometimes if they dont speak Thai!!)

Or invest 2 million baht in a company and get a long term visa no probs!!

BE WARNED that these days the immigration are even starting to clampdown on those visitors living here for a long time who pop over the border every month. I mean... What are you doing here?!? The border at Chiang Mai/Burma is now asking that all one month visa holders show 20,000 in cash before they will get stamped back into the country. In fact this is the law now but seldom seen elsewhere.

If anyone would like more info. on the above then pls do e-mail me, ive had 10 years of visa ups-and-downs.

[Mappaindy]

Dear all, I am now issuing a desperate plea for help for anyone who possesses the knowledge and information that I need.

I have a female Thai friend who is very very sick of life in Thailand. She lives in Bangkok at the moment but wants to move to Singapore to find work and start life anew here. She has come to me for help and I told her I can help her get air tickets and lodging.

So what I suggested to her was once she got here, I will bring her to the Immigration centre to apply for a long term social visit pass to look for employment. I have called up the Immigration centre and they said that the chances of an unskilled worker (non-professional) to get such a pass approved was next to none.

She is a very nice person who just got the short end of the stick in life going through a lot of hardships that she doesn't deserve to go through. I would actually marry her if possible to get her the long term social visit pass for spouses of Singapore citizens but same sex marriages are not allowed in Singapore yet.

I am now appealing to anyone Singaporean or Thai who knows someone who has come to Singapore to work and live to help me ask how they did it. Any help now is appreciated, I'm at my wit's end. Thank you all in advance.

[Mappaindy]

Wow Steve, that is a fabulous idea albeit a somewhat shady one. I wonder if we do find such a guy if she is willing to sell her believes of marrying only for love. I'll definately put this option across to her. Again thank you Steve and all for the wonderful input. The things you could learn from this forum. hahaha

Djaidee, thank you also for the caution. I'm now conjuring a million and one excuses that the couple could use if they are caught to be not living together. A first that comes to mind would be that they are currently going through a rough patch and decided to be apart for the moment, until if and when things get better.

BUCKY, I've already forewarned her about the money issue and sent her my full name and address so that the immigration people can be assured she is not coming here for ill reasons. I will also be at the airport so she can direct the immigration officer to me if she gets refused entry.

[Mappaindy]

Thank you so much for all your advise. Concerning studying in Singapore, it will be extremely difficult for her. She does not even have the Thai equivalent of the GCE 'O' Levels, it will be impossible for her to get into any of the local universities or polytechnics. Even if she could she couldn't afford the fees.

Secondly, I don't think we can put her into a private school to take the GCE 'O' levels as the entire course and examinations are all in English. She can speak Mandarin but cannot read nor write it.Private schools are also very expensive.

The reason she wants to come here is because at least she has a friend here, which is me. She was thinking of either Singapore or Malaysia, but she has no one to look out for her in Malaysia. Thailand is really killing, this last trip when I saw her, I felt so sorry for her. She just looks so old and worn out. And she's only 24. Her ex-boyfriend is just driving her up the wall, her boss is not doing her any favours with her constantly being a thorn in my friend's neck and a lot more which I shall not reveal as it is a bit personal. I will ask her permission before I reveal any more about her.

I was thinking of Mike's idea of just taking a course in Chinese and getting a Student's Visa, but I don't see any schools that offer language courses to students who don't already have a visa. In other words, you must be taking a course in some skill like business or engineering for which you already have a student visa before you apply for a language course.

Today, just out curiosity from BUCKY's remark about Thai spouses not getting citizenship, I called up immigration and asked how long a spouse of a Singapore citizen can stay in Thailand, the immigration lady told me that a spouse visa must be applied for, the result of which will be known in 4 weeks. Then I said what if her stay is only 14 days (maximum for a normal social visit) and an extension is not approved, she replied that the spouse would have to wait for the result back in Thailand. Then I asked if the application was a procedure and if the approval was 100% since we're talking about the spouse here. She said no, case by case basis.

Then I asked, once approved is the spouse allowed to stay as long as he/she wants, she replied no, depends how long she is given from a range of one to five years, usually one year is given. Then must reapply and again case by case approval. Finally, I made a remark to her which she didn't get. I said ironic how your website reads "because of Singapore's open immigration policy..." and how it's policies are actually so merciless.

I understand a thorough vetting procedure for all immigrants but spouses and children of citizens should have a less stringent test. As long as they are not criminals, terrorists or contagious diesease carriers, they should be allowed, shouldn't they. For God's sake, they are the spouse!

Anyway, she is flying over this Sunday with her sister. Will fill you guys in some more. Of course still appealing for more advise.

[opelayday]

Could she get some kind of a student visa ? Applying for a university course (or failing that, Chinese language course) in Singapore could let her stay for quite a while and if she can graduate it may help in getting employment in the future.

Regardless of the visa type though, I would imagine she will struggle without a fair bit of money in the bank when applying for the visa. If she doesn't have this at the moment, maybe you could transfer some to her account and have it returned once she gets there.

[dhrishiasv]

Hi Makiy0,
Hope your friend enjoy her stay in s'pore..

[Diandaplaipsy]

As you will know, Singapore has some of the strictness and harshest immigration laws in the word and one will be imprisoned AND caned for any violation of Visa ie. overstay or working on a tourist visa etc....So i would certainly advise against pulling off any company/school stunt that she would be working/studying with them.

I would like to put forward the best idea yet but it is not a cheap one.

While I was a was a student in London i knew of a scheme that was going around for mostly Thai students there, who when graduating wanted to continue living in England. For the average cost of around 2,000 pounds (140,000 baht) another male English native would marry her so that the girl could continue living in England. The marriage would last three years, if i remember right, she would get citizenship, then they would get divorced. At no time at all during their marriage did they live together, he had only to make his flat look like she was also living there with her clothes in his wardrobe and a few photos of the fake couple spread around the house. This was because a couple of times during the first year of marriage immigration would come around to check the authenticity of the marriage. Im sure they will do the same thing in Singapore.

Singapore sounds just like England in that for the first few years she will have to apply on an annual basis, that is only normal. Also very normal in developed countries is that she will be allowed visa extension authorization on a case-to-case basis. Immigration just have to say its not 100% sure, that is there job.

So Makiyo, im certain that this scheme would work in Singapore if you could find a poorish guy or a student that is willing to not marry another girl for a few years.

[StincPriene]

Hi MakiyO !
By doing so like stevesuphan mentioned you have to be very carefull, because it`s against the Law.
Here in Germany we also have many Thai Women who marry a German Man so that they can live here and earn some money. But actually the couple is not living together. Even if the man has some clothes of her and pictures in the house, there are many ways to prove that they are not living together.
We have here a special "Police Crime Unit" who work only to save such cases, all day long. They might follow the Man and the Women many weeks, observing them, and at the end proving that they only get married so that the Thai Women became a Visa.
Both of them than get charged because they did against the Law.
I am pretty sure that in Singapore the Police works so too, so again be carefull.

[Mappaindy]

Thank you all once again for all the advise, I don't feel so lost anymore, at least I have more options now to explore. Anyway, will have to wait for the expiration of her 14 day entry permit to reach it's closing stages before we can go to Immigration Control Centre to apply for an extension.

Also, a big thank you to the people who PMed/whispered me some options to explore. You guys know who you are.

Will update this thread in a week.

[Anteneprorid]

Quote[/b] (Makiy0 @ Jan. 17 2005,08:20)]Strangerdoom, unfortunately, I'm not self-employed, in fact, I'm not even employed. Currently still studying. I'm actually looking for people with contacts especially those who know any one who owns a shop in Golden Mile, exactly for the option that you have stated in your post.

Thanchart, about having enough to come in, she is already here and she has absolutely no problems coming into the Singapore customs. I was quite amazed, no questions on agenda, return tickets nor amount of money.

Paul_au.......hahahahaha

It's not surprising if she has not been to Singapore before. She is treated as any ordinary tourist. She has been given the benefit of doubt and not treated with any suspicion whatsoever. If I am not wrong she is given a 2-week entry permit or even 1 month.

It is only a possible problem if she has been here recently and worse if frequentlyly. Your option of her working in GM is going to be tough, but she can go and ask, perhaps if she is lucky they might just have a vacancy.

[dhrishiasv]

Quote[/b] (strangerdoom @ Jan. 16 2005,12:29)]Alternatively, does anyone knows if it is possible to stay in Thailand for long term? Is there any special visa that allows Singaporean to stay there for a long term?

no.. no special visa.... not sure even if you have that special "VIP" card, can you get long term visa....
even if you apply for work permit, thai officials here will only renew it monthly... annoyinly... i heard.. for the first 3 to 6 months... sorry.. this apply to all foreigners..
of cos... there're other ways to renew visa...
but this will be another topic...

[dhrishiasv]

Hi MAkiy0,
I believe s'pore has a very strict policies for Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc.. mostly those "less developed countries"...

think about it, we have to, because if we don't, thousands of people from these countries will come work in s'pore... as if we don't already have enough "foreign talents"....

Share with you another "unfair" story.. I have a Thai lady friend, who came to s'pore once to look for her "boyfriend". However, she only has 500 baht in her wallet, and upon reaching s'pore custom at airport, she was asked many questions. And when she couldn't provide enough informations of her friend and custom found out she only has 500 baht, she was refused entry and was send back..... My manager's Thai gf was refused entry in Malaysia too and spent 1 night in hold up because of insufficient fund too. He had to pick her up the next day himself and explained to custom. Many times, s'pore customs will ask many questions on single Thai travellers. So my advise to you, ask your friend to bring "sufficient" money and give her your contacts.. just in case....

Not sure if this is relevant to your topic....

[dhrishiasv]

Hi,
I've friends who'd married Thai, and I've heard, even them couldn't get citizenship easily and let alone find jobs in S'pore.
I do have a friend who knew a Thai lady working in S'pore though but she works in Bangkok Bank based in S'pore. Therefore, alternative of working in S'pore is to find a local company which have offices in S'pore and request for overseas posting.

Sorry to say if she don't have any professional qualifications, she can forget about working in S'pore.

Or like what Mike suggested, get a student visa, enrol in a course with S'pore university.. I think s'pore university has a scheme or something which offers scholarship for foreigners but condition is to then work in S'pore for 2 or 3 years.. which is something your friend want?

But I wonder.. why'll your friend choose to come work in s'pore? From what I heard, many Thai eventually get sick of S'pore and choose to go back.....

btw, i'm s'porean working in thailand..

[Anypeny]

Quote[/b] (Makiy0 @ Jan. 14 2005,04:11)]Dear all, I am now issuing a desperate plea for help for anyone who possesses the knowledge and information that I need.

I have a female Thai friend who is very very sick of life in Thailand. She lives in Bangkok at the moment but wants to move to Singapore to find work and start life anew here. She has come to me for help and I told her I can help her get air tickets and lodging.

So what I suggested to her was once she got here, I will bring her to the Immigration centre to apply for a long term social visit pass to look for employment. I have called up the Immigration centre and they said that the chances of an unskilled worker (non-professional) to get such a pass approved was next to none.

She is a very nice person who just got the short end of the stick in life going through a lot of hardships that she doesn't deserve to go through. I would actually marry her if possible to get her the long term social visit pass for spouses of Singapore citizens but same sex marriages are not allowed in Singapore yet.

I am now appealing to anyone Singaporean or Thai who knows someone who has come to Singapore to work and live to help me ask how they did it. Any help now is appreciated, I'm at my wit's end. Thank you all in advance.

Hi Makiy0,

I have another suggestion but I am not sure if it is workable. Well, first of all are you self-empolyed? If yes, I guess you can apply a work permit for her so that you can stay here for long term.

If no, maybe you can consider seeking help from your friends who have their own business.

It just another suggestion, it might not be workable.